Company Takes Employees Nationwide on Odyssey of Gratitude, Donates Millions to Charities

It can be easy to take friends and family for granted on a day-to-day basis – but this company is aiming to spend the next two weeks inspiring an attitude of gratitude… starting with their employees.

In an emotional video that was released by Liberty Diversified International (LDI), a Minnesota-based manufacturer of packaging and business supplies, company employees were asked to write a letter to someone who they appreciated. Then, they were asked to call the person who they wrote about so they could read their affectionate words out loud.

One woman became tearful when she told her boss how much she appreciated her career and workplace; other people got understandably choked up from reading letters to their parents; and one woman even read a movingly symbolic letter to someone who had passed away.

By the end of the video, it seems that most of them were feeling the love.

The social gesture was released as a means of starting LDI’s cross-country tour to celebrate their 100th anniversary. Company workers will be traveling through 17 cities over 19 days so they can spend millions of dollars on giving back to local communities.

The “Great Gratitude Tour” kicked off yesterday in New York City. At the finale event of the tour in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, LDI will attempt to set the Guinness World Record title for the most contributions to a greetings scroll in one hour. Employees and community members will be invited to sign their name and write their personal messages of gratitude on a long brown paper scroll. More than 1,000 signatures are needed to set the record.

“We’re lighting the torch for the next 100 years by working to inspire people across the country to share their gratitude, do good for others and get involved in their communities,” said Mike Fiterman, chairman of the LDI board. “We are a company born from gratitude. It’s a core part of who we are that continues to this day. As we honor our centennial year, it’s only fitting that we begin our Great Gratitude Tour in New York, the city that is the home to the symbol of freedom, hope and opportunity in America.”